Contaminant-reactive geocomposite mat and method of manufacture and use

ABSTRACT

Reactive geocomposite mats, and their method of manufacture, for treating contaminants in soil or water that allow the passage of essentially non-contaminated water therethrough. The geocomposite mat includes a pre-formed woven or non-woven geotextile, having a thickness of about 6 mm to about 200 mm, and having, a porosity sufficient to receive a powdered or granular contaminant-reactive material, contaminant-sorptive material, or a contaminant-neutralizing material (hereinafter collectively referred to as “contaminant-reactant material” or “contaminant-reactive material”) throughout its thickness, or in any portion of the thickness across its entire major surface(s). The powdered or granular contaminant-reactive material is disposed within the pores of the previously formed, high loft geotextile mat to surround the fibers, e.g., by vacuum or vibrating the high loft mat while in contact with the contaminant-reactive material to allow the powdered or granular contaminant-reactive material to flow by gravity into the pores of the previously formed geotextile and vibrational forces. Liquid-permeable cover sheets are adhered to the upper and lower major surfaces of the filled geotextile to prevent the powdered or granular material from escaping from the geotextile during transportation and installation.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a reactive geocomposite forcontrolling or preventing the further spread of contaminants in soil orwater. More particularly, the geocomposite described herein includes areactive core formed from a high loft geotextile that is filled with apowdered or granular reactive material, such as activated carbon, cokebreeze, peat moss, polymeric ion exchange resins, polymeric adsorbingresins; zero-valent iron, apatite, organophilic clay, zeolite,diatomaceous earth or mixtures thereof and having a liquid-permeablecover sheet attached to the upper and lower major surfaces of the filledgeotextile.

BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART

The prior art is replete with methods and articles used to confine orstore a wide variety of environmental contaminants ranging fromcompletely capping, in-situ, contaminated sediments that are leftin-place in underwater environments; terrestrial landfills whereindredged or otherwise collected contaminated sediments are placed withinan engineered disposal site surrounded with an impervious liner systemand capped with an impervious material; and the use of a reactive matand/or reactive backfill that surrounds the contaminated material.Examples of reactive mats are found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,284,681 B1 ('681)and published application US 2002/0151241 A1 ('241). The reactive matsdescribed in these two publications include one or more layers ofreactive material each surrounded by geotextiles that allow contaminatedliquid to pass through the reactive mat for sorption or reaction of thecontaminate with a reactive material contained between the geotextilelayers, and in the case of the '241 published application, the mat maybe deployed vertically.

One of the major problems encountered with the use of reactive mats forcontrolling or confining contaminated materials, or in controlling orpreventing leaching of contaminants from sediments and preventing thecontaminants from entering ground water supplies or from traversingthrough a lake or ocean soil interface into the lake or ocean, is in theability to provide a transportable mat having a sufficient volume orthickness of reactive material so that the mat provides very long termprotection without the necessity of periodic replacement. The reactivemats described in the '681 patent and in the '241 publication providealternating layers of geotextile/reactive material/geotextile/reactivematerial since a sufficient thickness of reactive material cannot beprovided in a single reactive material core layer without that reactivematerial being lost during transportation or installation.

This assignee's U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,237,945 ('945) and 5,389,166 ('166)describe the manufacture of a water barrier formed from a clay-fiber matthat may include, intermixed with a powdered or granular bentonite clay,a powdered or granular liquid-interacting material, e.g., acontaminant-reactant, or providing the contaminant-reactant as aseparate layer in the water barrier product. The water barrier matformed in accordance with the '945 and '166 patents is manufactured bylaying down geosynthetic fibers and the water swellable clay, with orwithout the contaminant-reactant material, simultaneously. In thismanner, a geosynthetic composite material can be manufactured whereinthe geosynthetic fibers are surrounded by the water-swellable clay, withor without the contaminant-reactant material, in initially forming arelatively thick geotextile. Such a mat must be subsequentlyconsolidated after the initial formation of the mixture of powdered orgranular material and fibers in an attempt to secure the fibers inposition surrounding the powdered or granular material. The followingproblems may be encountered with filled mats manufactured bysimultaneously mixing individual fibers together with powdered orgranular materials in accordance with this assignee's U.S. Pat. Nos.5,237,945 and 5,389,166:

(1) Because interior fibers within the geotextile are not secured toadjacent fibers, particularly in thick mats, there would be lateralmovement of powdered or granular material within the mat, particularlyat the center of the mat thickness; (2) Any reactive materials that havea relatively high hardness, e.g., coke breeze, will preventneedle-punching as a means to consolidate the mats described in the '945and '166 patents, since the hard materials will cause needle breakageand frequent replacement of worn needles; (3) Needle-punching as a meansto consolidate the '945 and '166 mats is limited to relatively thinmats, e.g., less than 1 inch or 2.54 cm (25.4 mm), since fibers are tooshort to traverse the thickness of thicker mats for effectiveconnection; and (4) Because of the shifting of fibers and powdered orgranular material during manufacture of the '945 and '166 mats, thepowdered or granular material will not be placed within the mat in aconsistent quantity (weight per unit volume) and, therefore, will notprovide consistent contaminant reaction, contaminant sorption, orcontaminant neutralization per unit area. Another issue with the '945and '166 mats is that when water swellable sodium bentonite clay isutilized, with or without the reactive material, when the sodiumbentonite clay swells, the resulting swell pressure restricts theaqueous flow through the mat.

SUMMARY

In brief, described herein are reactive geocomposite mats, and theirmethod of manufacture, for controlling contaminants in soil or waterthat allow the passage of essentially non-contaminated watertherethrough. The geocomposite mat includes a pre-formed woven ornon-woven geotextile, having a thickness of about 6 mm to about 200 mm,preferably about 10 mm to about 100 mm, and having a porosity sufficientto receive a powdered or granular contaminant-reactive material,contaminant-sorptive material, or a contaminant-neutralizing material(hereinafter collectively referred to as “contaminant-reactant material”or “contaminant-reactive material”) throughout its thickness, or in anyportion of the thickness, across its entire major surface(s). Thepowdered or granular contaminant-reactive material is disposed withinthe pores of the previously formed, high loft geotextile mat to surroundthe fibers, e.g., by vacuum suction or by vibrating the high loft matwhile in contact with the contaminant-reactive material to allow thepowdered or granular contaminant-reactive material to flow, by gravityand vibrational forces, into the pores of the previously formedgeotextile. Liquid-permeable cover sheets are adhered to the upper andlower major surfaces of the filled geotextile to prevent the powdered orgranular material from escaping from the geotextile duringtransportation and installation. Optionally, the edges of the filledgeotextile can be sealed, such as by providing the upper and lower coversheets slightly larger than the dimensions of the geotextile and gluingthe extra cover sheet material to the edges of the filled geotextile orheat sealing them together. Other edge sealing options include sewing,needlepunching, and ultrasonic welding of the cover sheets together orby applying a separate, edge-covering material that can be glued, heatsealed or ultrasonically welded to the cover sheets. Edge sealingmaterials may be liquid-impermeable or liquid-permeable.

Suitable powdered or granular contaminant-reactive materials includeorganophilic clay, activated carbon, coke breeze, zero-valent iron,apatite, zeolite, peat moss, polymeric ion exchange resins, polymericadsorbents and mixtures thereof. If the contaminant-reactive material islighter than water, where the reactive mat is intended for sub-aqueousdisposition, such as activated coke breeze, the geotextile fibers willbe a material that his heavier than water, such as a polyester. Anygeosynthetic fibers may be used where the reactive material is heavierthan water, such as polyolefins, e.g., polypropylene, polyethylene andcopolymers thereof; rayon; polyesters; nylon; acrylic polymers andcopolymers; polyamides; polyamide copolymers; polyurethanes, and thelike.

The method of manufacture permits the manufacture of a geocompositearticle that includes a contaminant-reactant material that isstructurally secure, without lateral movement, and containscontaminant-reactant material uniformly disposed throughout thethickness, or throughout a desired upper and/or lower portion of thethickness of the geocomposite. The geocomposite can be manufactured toprovide either a flexible or a rigid geocomposite material, and permitsthe manufacture of various modified geocomposites; geocomposite articlesthat include a contaminant-reactant material, such as a zeolite or anorganophilic clay with or without a water-absorbent material fortreatment of contaminants in water, in an organic liquid, or in amixture of water and an organic liquid; a minimum of leakage of powderedor granular materials held by the pre-formed mat; the application oflayer(s) of liquid-permeable films or sheets of material over both majorsurfaces of the article to confine the granular or powdered material inplace within the pre-formed geotextile; the application of solid orliquid adhesive materials or compositions to one or both major surfacesand/or to any of the edges of the geocomposite article for completeretention of essentially all powdered and/or granular materials; thecapability of inserting one or more rigidifying materials into, or onto,the geocomposite article during manufacture, such as a sheet ofperforated fiberglass; rope; cardboard; relatively rigid,liquid-permeable corrugated materials, e.g., corrugated cardboard, andthe like at some point at or between the top and bottom major surfacesof the geocomposite article to provide various degrees of flexibility orrigidity; the capability of manufacturing the geocomposite articleswithout the necessity of a consolidation step; and providing varioussizes, shapes and weights of pre-formed, high loft geotextiles toachieve the benefits of each. If a water-absorbent, water-swellablematerial, such as sodium bentonite is included with thecontaminant-reactive material, it should be included in an amount lessthan about 20 lb/ft³, preferably 0 to about 10 lb/ft³, more preferably 0to about 5 lb/ft³ so that, upon swelling, it does not prevent the flowof contaminated water through the geocomposite mat.

The contaminant-reactant material can be withheld from an upper or lowermajor surface of the high loft geotextile, if desired, to provide aspace or area for the contaminant-reactant material to expand uponreaction or sorption with, or neutralization of the contaminants; or toprovide areas for the addition of other powdered or granular materials,such as an organophilic clay, a zeolite or other contaminant-treatingmaterial. For example, the contaminant-reactant material can be omittedthroughout a predetermined thickness at the top major surface or thebottom major surface. Alternatively, a powdered or granularwater-swellable clay material can be applied in a relatively highconcentration at or near the edges of the geocomposite article adjacentto one or both major surfaces to permit the contaminant-reactantmaterial layer to extrude through a water-permeable cover layer to aplanar edge surface immediately above and/or below one or both exteriormajor surfaces, thereby creating a sealing layer of contaminant-reactantmaterial capable of sealing at overlaps and seams between adjacent oroverlapping geocomposite articles.

As shown in FIG. 6, it is preferred to seal the edges 193 of the filledgeocomposite articles 10 by providing excess cover material 192 and/or194 in an amount sufficient so that one or both of the cover layers 192and/or 194 can be overlapped and adhered together, at or above the edge193, via an adhesive, thermal bonding (heat-sealing), needle punching,or sonic welding.

Accordingly, one aspect of the geocomposite articles described herein isto provide a new and improved article of manufacture and method ofmaking the article by incorporating a powdered or granularcontaminant-reactant material into a high loft, pre-formed mat ofinterconnected, geotextile fibers.

A further aspect of the geocomposite articles described herein is toprovide a new and improved article of manufacture including a powderedor granular contaminant-reactant or contaminant-interacting material,wherein the material is selected from the group consisting of anorganophilic clay, a zeolite, a contaminant-absorbent, acontaminant-adsorbent, an ion-exchange material, a contaminant-reactant,a contaminant-neutralizing material, and mixtures thereof as separatelyapplied or intermixed material. The powdered or granular materials maybe applied as an admixture, or applied sequentially within a pre-formedtextile mat having a sufficient apparent opening size, e.g., about 0.5to about 6 mm, preferably about 1 mm to about 4 mm, to receive thepowdered or granular material in an amount of at least about 10 lb/ft³up to about 150 lb/ft³, preferably about 30 lb/ft³ to about 100 lb/ft³,throughout the thickness, or throughout any upper or lower portion ofthe thickness of the pre-formed mat. Preferably, the powdered and/orgranular material will occupy about 50% to about 99.9% by volume of thepre-formed geotextile mat, more preferably about 80% to about 99.9% ofthe pre-formed mat.

The above and other aspects and advantages of the geocomposite articlesand their method of manufacture will become apparent from the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunctionwith the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 3 are partially broken-away, schematic views of alternatemethods of manufacture and apparatus used to make the geocompositearticles described herein;

FIG. 2 a is an enlarged, partially broken-away side view of a reactivegeocomposite article formed with upper and lower layers of powdered orgranular contaminant-reactant material;

FIG. 2 b is an enlarged, partially broken-away side view of a reactivegeocomposite article of that has been filled with a powdered or granularcontaminant-reactant material, such as an organophillic clay, over theentire thickness of the mat;

FIGS. 4 a, 4 b and 4 c are enlarged, broken-away side views of articlesmanufactured as described herein that include intermediateliquid-permeable sheets or nets of strengthening materials and include apowdered or granular contaminant-reactant material in only a portion ofthe thickness of the article;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the geocomposite article describedherein oriented vertically, adjacent to a sea/soil interface, forsorbing contaminants, e.g., hydrocarbons from a petroleum fraction, thatleach through soil and travel through the sea/soil interface, into thesea, to prevent the contaminants from traversing the sea/soil interface;and

FIG. 6 is a partially broken-away side view of an edge of thegeocomposite article having excess material from upper and lower coversheets adhered together, either adhesively, by heat-sealing, or byultrasonic welding, to seal the edges of the article.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Turning now to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic diagram formanufacturing the geocomposite articles 10 described herein, includingmany optional features any one or more of which can be included in themanufacturing process to provide various characteristics and propertiesto the geocomposite articles.

The geocomposite article 10 is manufactured to include a layer of wovenor non-woven liquid-permeable sheet material 12 and 14 on both majorexterior surfaces; various reinforcing material can be included withinthe interior and/or exterior of the article to provide structuralreinforcement or to provide various degrees of article rigidity;portions of the high loft geotextile 15, along its upper and/or lowermajor surfaces can be left with low concentrations of, or without, apowdered or granular material so that a portion of the article is veryporous to allow for venting of gases captured by the article from below;and powdered or granular materials such as a contaminant (organic)reactant absorbent or adsorbent, and, optionally a water-absorbentmaterial, such as bentonite clay can be intermixed with thecontaminant-reactant material(s) 16 being deposited onto the pre-formed,high loft geotextile 15. Any of these features can be used alone ortogether with any of the other features, as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3,to provide very unique geocomposite articles having any number ofdifferent properties and the capability of containing the spread ofcontaminants.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, there is illustrated a method and apparatus,including a number of optional features each of which can be used aloneor in combination with any of the other features for manufacturing aproduct having single or plurality of different granular or powderedcontaminant-reactant materials, and with or without various reinforcingmaterials and/or coating materials added to one or both exteriorsurfaces of the article being manufactured to provide variouscharacteristics or properties to the finished geocomposite article 10,as will be described in more detail hereinafter. The apparatus generallyincludes a conveyor belt 17 that travels continuously around a pair ofrollers 18 and 20, at least one of which is motor driven at a desiredspeed; and one or more contaminant-reactant feeding devices, generallydesignated by reference numerals 22 and 24.

The liquid-permeable sheet material layers 12 and 14, used to preventloss of the powdered or granular material during transportation andinstallation, are applied to the upper and lower major surfaces of thepre-formed, high loft geotextile after loading the geotextile 15 withcontaminant-reactant material. The preferred method of manufacture is tofirst adhere the lower liquid permeable sheet material 12 to the highloft geotextile 15 then fill the high loft geotextile 15 with thepowdered or granular material, followed by adhering the upper,liquid-permeable sheet material 14 to the high loft geotextilecontaining the powdered or granular material. In one embodiment, thepowdered or granular material 16 penetrates the high loft geotextile 15by vibrating the geotextile 15 with vibrator 140. Alternatively, vacuumcan be applied under the geotextile 15.

Additional contaminant-reactant material in granular or powdered formcan be applied to the filled geotextile 15 from feeding conduit 24 toprovide one or more surface concentrations of contaminant-reactantmaterial or to apply a different powdered or granularcontaminant-reactant, prior to applying the water-permeable cover layers12 and 14. Upper and lower major surfaces then are covered with thewater-permeable, preferably non-woven, cover layers 12 and 14, fromrolls 28 and 30, that are preferably adhered to the major surfaces ofthe geotextile 15 using a water-insoluble adhesive, applied fromadhesive supply vessels 32 and 34.

Additionally, slicing or searing devices 36 and/or 38 can be providedabove and/or below the article to provide extrudability to thecontaminant-reactant material from the article, e.g., for sealing aplurality of the geocomposite articles at overlaps. The slicing orsearing devices 36 and/or 38 can be used to slice and/or sear one orboth of the cover layers 12 and/or 14, at any point during themanufacture of the article 10, for improved extrusion to provide seamand/or overlap sealing of adjacent articles, or the slicing step can bebypassed. The finished article 10 can be collected in a roll form 40taken up on a suitable mandrel 42 or can be festooned onto pallets (notshown) or the like.

FIG. 2 a shows high loft geotextile mat 15 filled only on upper andlower major surfaces with the powdered or granular material 16. FIG. 2 bshows the high loft geotextile mat 15 filled with a powdered or granularmaterial 16 incorporated throughout the geotextile mat 15.

Turning now to FIG. 3, there is shown a schematic diagram of one methodof loading the pre-formed, high loft geotextile mat 115 with powdered orgranular contaminant-reactant material in a dry state. The dry materialfeeding apparatus, generally designated by reference numeral 100 isuseful for depositing one or more powdered or granularcontaminant-reactant materials, such as an organophillic clay, from areceiving hopper 102. An auger 104 is disposed at a lower end of thereceiving hopper 102, and in fluid communication therewith, to force thecontaminant-reactant material through conduit 106 to an inlet 108 ofelevator 110. The contaminant-reactant is discharged from the elevator110 at elevator outlet opening 112, through conduit 114 into a receivinghopper 116. A pair of augers 118 and 120 in fluid communication with alower portion of hopper 116 force the contaminant-reactant into one, twoor three feeding mechanisms, generally designated by reference numerals122, 124 and 126, for feeding the contaminant-reactant material in acontrolled manner to one, two or three continuous feed conveyor belts128, 130 and 132 successively aligned above an elongated productconveyor belt 134. The contaminant-reactant generally is applied overthe high loft, geotextile mat 115 to substantially fill the void spacesbetween fibers in the high loft, geotextile mat 115 in an amount ofabout ¼ to 30 pounds of powdered or granular material per square foot offinished article major surface area, preferably about ½ to about 5pounds of powdered or granular material per square foot of article majorsurface area. In accordance with one embodiment, a supply of aliquid-permeable flexible sheet material 136 in roll form 138 isdisposed above the continuous product conveyor belt 134 to provide acontinuous supply of liquid-permeable flexible sheet material onto anupper surface of the product conveyor belt 134. The upper surface ofsheet material 136 from roll 138 is sprayed with liquid adhesive fromadhesive vessel 139 to adhere the sheet material to an under surface ofthe high loft geotextile 115, and the geotextile 115 then is filled withthe powdered or granular material, from one or more of the feedingmechanisms 122, 124 and/or 126, deposited onto the geotextile 115 fromone, two or all three of the feed conveyor belts 128, 130 and 132. Anyone, two or all three of the feed conveyor belts 228, 230 and 232 can beused to incorporate the same or different powdered or granularcontaminant-reactant materials throughout a portion of, or the entirethickness of the geotextile 115. Vibration apparatus 140 is connected tothe product conveyor belt directly below the feed conveyor belts 128,130, and 132 to vibrate the powdered or granular contaminant-reactantmaterials into the geotextile 115.

The individual powdered or granular materials are deposited across theentire width of the geotextile mat 115, as the particles drop from thefeeders 122, 124 and/or 126. In this manner, the entire thickness or anyportion of the thickness of the fibrous mat 115 is filled with thecontaminant-reactant material. Dust collection suction devices 144, 146and 148 may be disposed near each continuous contaminant-reactant feedconveyor belt 128, 130 and 132 to clear the air of fine particlesemanating from feeding mechanisms 122, 124 and 126 and return theparticles back to a dust collector 167 for disposal and/or back to thereceiving hopper 102, via conduit 149. A second flexible,water-permeable sheet material 150, from roll 151, is disposed on adownstream side of the clay feeding mechanisms 122, 124, and 126 andabove the product conveyor belt 134. The second flexible sheet material150 is fed by power driven roller 152, power rollers 154 and 156 andwind up rollers 158 and 160 to dispose flexible, water-permeable sheetmaterial 150 on top of the contaminant-reactant-filled article todispose the filled geotextile material 115 between lower flexible sheetmaterial 136 and upper flexible sheet material 150. Adhesive vessel 161applies adhesive to a surface of sheet material 150 to adhere the sheetmaterial 150 to an upper surface of the filled geotextile 115.

The powdered or granular contaminant-reactant material utilized to fillthe void spaces between the fibers of the high loft, geotextile has aparticle size in the range of about 1 to about 400 mesh, preferablyabout 10 to about 200 mesh.

As shown in FIGS. 4 a, 4 b and 4 c, the articles of manufacturegenerally designated by reference numerals 170, 180 and 190,respectively, are manufactured to include a powdered or granularmaterial, such as an organophillic clay 16, incorporated into thegeotextile 15 throughout only a portion of the overall thickness “t” ofeach article 170, 180 and 190. Each article 170, 180 and 190 is shown toinclude an upper sheet or netting 192 and a lower sheet or netting 194of liquid-permeable polymeric sheet material, rope, netting, or otherstrengthening, or rigidifying materials, the same or different,incorporated within the interior of the article during manufacture inany desired combination. The article 170 of FIG. 4 a includes thepowdered or granular material 16 incorporated over a central portion ofthe article, defined between the two internal sheet or netting materials192 and 199. The article 180 of FIG. 4 b includes the powdered orgranular material 16 in an upper portion of the article, above sheetmaterial 192, and under an upper, liquid-permeable sheet material 195,as well as in a central portion of the article 180, between sheetmaterial 192 and sheet material 194. The article 190 of FIG. 4 cincludes the powdered or granular material 16 incorporated within alower half of the article 190, filling a lower portion of the article190 between sheet material 194, and lower, liquid-permeable sheetmaterial 197, and within a lower half of the central portion of article190 between lower material 194 and upper material 192. Such materialsmay be manufactured by adhesively securing multiple articles, filled orunfilled, each filled portion being manufactured in accordance with thedescription of FIGS. 1 and 3.

Some of the most prevalent contaminants found in waste waters containedin ponds, lagoons, areas of subterranean structure and otherwater-releasing or organic (hydrocarbon) spill areas, particularly wherethese areas include industrial waste waters, are heavy metal ions andwater-insoluble or partially water-insoluble organic materials. It iswell known in the prior art that natural and synthetic zeolites and ionexchange resins are capable of removing a substantial portion of theheavy metal ions from a waste water solution and that organophilic claysare capable of removing water-insoluble organic materials from solution.However, the prior art suggests that removal of these materials fromwaste water streams should be done on-stream, treating the entirety ofthe waste water stream in order to remove these materials, requiringfrequent replacement of treating materials because of the heavy volumesof waste water stream that passes through the zeolites or passes throughthe organophilic clays in order to clarify these waste water streams. Byincluding an organophilic clay, or applying a mixture of water-swellableclay (not required) with a zeolite or organophilic clay, to fill thevoids between fibers of the high loft geotextile 15 or 115, the zeoliteand/or organophilic clay will form a water-treatment material whereinthe zeolite and/or organophilic clay will remove the contaminants, e.g.,hydrocarbon contaminants, and allow the clean water to pass through thegeocomposite article 10.

As shown in FIG. 5, the geocomposite articles 10 described herein areparticularly effective for vertical disposition adjacent to a sea/soilinterface 200 for protecting a lake or ocean 202 against hydrocarboncontaminants that otherwise leach through soil 204 and penetrate thesea/soil interface 200.

In accordance with another important embodiment of the geocompositearticles described herein, the contaminant-reactant material, comprisingany contaminant-adsorbent, -absorbent, -reactant, or -neutralizingmaterial can be supplied as a separate layer adjacent to anotherpowdered or granular contaminant-reactant material so that the amount ofmaterial treated for the removal of a given contaminant is only thatmaterial which penetrates the adjacent layer of powdered or granularmaterial.

In accordance with another important feature of the present invention,the contaminant-reactant materials mixed or supplied as separate layerscan be any material capable of adsorbing, absorbing, neutralizing, orreacting with the contaminant for insolubilization and/or separation ofthe contaminant from the liquid stream flowing through the reactivematerial. Examples of materials capable of removing or neutralizingcontaminants include absorbent fibers, such as microcrystallinecellulose; attapulgite clay; zinc rincinoleate absorbed on an absorbentfiber or other absorbent material; amorphous silica powder; syntheticcalcium silicate; polyolefin pulp; sodium alumino-silicate (type Asodium zeolite); maltodextran; sodium silica aluminates (note that allthe above are absorbents). Other materials, such as adsorbents includemicrocrystalline cellulose; silica hydrogel based compositions;attapulgites; synthetic sodium magnesium silicates; synthetic calciumsilicates; silicon dioxide; acid activated clays; type A sodiumzeolites; and the like provided as a separate layer or mixed with theabsorbents and/or adsorbents. Other materials can be included such as analgicide, antimicrobial material, bactericide, disinfectant, and/orfungicides such as phenol; zinc undecylenate N.F.; acetyl tyridiniumchloride N.F.X.III and the like.

Most preferred as the adsorbent, absorbent and/or reactant and/orneutralizing material are coke breeze, activated carbon, natural orsynthetic zeolites, apatite, and/or an organophilic clay, which isbasically a montmorillonite clay that has been reacted with a quaternaryorganic material to make it hydrophilic and absorbent to organiccontaminants.

The high loft geotextile mat 15 or 115 can be woven or non-woven.Suitable fibers of construction of the geotextile mat 15 or 115 includefibers made from rayon, polypropylene, polyesters, nylon, acrylicpolymers and copolymers, ceramic fiber, fiberglass, propylene-ethylenecopolymers, polypropylene-polyamide copolymers, a single monofilament,polyethylene, polyurethane, cotton, jute and any othernon-biodegradable, or very slowly biodegradable, fibers preferablyhaving both bacteriological and chemical resistance. In someinstallations, the thickness of the article is not important and sucharticles can be formed with any desired thickness, e.g., 3 mils to about4 inches containing about 0.2 to about 30 pounds per square foot ofcontaminant-reactant material.

The above-described products can be modified in a number of ways to suitvarious purposes and this adaptability of the products is one of theprimary benefits when compared with water barriers of the prior art. Forexample, the geocomposite products described herein can be loaded with aheavy material such as metal screen, or a heavy mineral such as Barite,iron oxide or the like, relatively uniformly, together with a powderedor granular contaminant-reactant so that the overall product has aspecific gravity greater than 1.0 thereby enabling the material tosubmerge easily in water. Accordingly, the product can be applied to thesoil surface at the bottom of a filled lagoon, waste containment area,and the like, without first draining the lagoon or waste containmentarea. The product containing a heavy mineral can be rolled out over thewater or waste containment upper level and allowed to sink to cover thesoil surface at the bottom of the water or liquid waste material,thereby saving substantial time, effort and expense in sealing apre-existing lagoon, waste containment area, and the like, without firstdraining the lagoon or waste containment area.

In another embodiment, the products described herein can haveincorporated therein a very light material such as expanded vermiculiteor expanded perlite, so that the product has substantial buoyancy inwater, liquid waste materials, and the like, to form a cover over aliquid waste containment area, such as a toxic waste lagoon, to preventexternal compounds, dust, and dirt from entering the waste containmentarea. One portion of this cover material can be adapted for removal orrolling back so that additional toxic waste and the like may be added tothe covered containment area while maintaining a water-impervious coverto prevent further filling of the waste containment area with rainwater.

The products described herein can be essentially a single non-wovenfabric material, so that it can elongate, where elongation is adesirable characteristic, while retaining the desiredcontaminant-removal characteristics. Further, drainage structures andother articles used in the water drainage arts can be virtuallyincorporated into the interior of this product during manufacture, e.g.,under the upper and/or lower cover sheets. Herbicides, bactericidalmaterials, tracer chemicals, various colorants that indicate contactwith a particular chemical or class of chemicals, and the like, also canbe incorporated into the articles described herein.

The product is particularly effective in shored wall conditions forapplication against steel sheet piling; soldier beam and lagging;soldier beam and earth installations; concrete caissons; earthenstabilized wall structures and diaphram wall structures. In addition tothe usual geotextile-type fibers, cellulosic fibers can be used as wellas hay, straw, coconut fibers and fibers refined from wood chips and thelike, particularly for use as an agricultural root zone liner to provideliquid feed for the promotion of plant growth. The products describedherein are also useful as gas barriers, particularly Radon gas barriers,to protect structures and containers above or below ground. Many otheruses for the products of the present invention should be apparent tothose skilled in the art.

The uses for the powdered or granular material-filled orpartially-filled products described herein are virtually infinite sincethe product can be made completely flexible, relatively rigid or rigidand can be applied against very contoured and slopping surfaces, roughor smooth, as well as vertical surfaces, such as foundation walls, dams,along the sides of canals and below grades such as in tank farms, andfor irrigation and water conservation techniques. The products aresubstantially better than layered products having an intermediate layerof powdered or granular material since the fabric of the presentinvention will not peel apart and the contaminant-reactant material hasmuch less tendency to leak out of the product during handling andinstallation. Further, there is essentially no slippage of fabric sincethe product is, basically, a single non-woven fabric containing activematerial(s).

The products have a number of other advantages over the prior artlayered products that include an upper and lower fabric surrounding aninterior layer of bentonite clay since the products can be, essentially,a single fabric layer that is filled or partially filled with anydesired powdered or granular contaminant-reactant material, whileoptionally including interior space for absorption or expansion of aninterior powdered or granular material, such as a water-swellable clay.The products are particularly well suited for providingcontaminant-removal in shored wall conditions to protect surface areasthat are either vertical, sloped or horizontal. The products are verydurable because of the method of manufacture, since strength is notdependent upon any method of structurally securing two separate fabriclayers together across an intermediate layer of powdered or granularmaterial. Such prior art layered products are significantly less durablethan the products described herein because of their tendency to separateas a result of shear forces between top and bottom fabric layers,particularly where such layered products are installed over vertical orslopping surface, where shear forces are most prevalent.

1. A reactive, water-permeable geocomposite article for treatingcontaminants in soil or water comprising a pre-formed geotextile matformed from woven or non-woven fibers, having a thickness of about 6 mmto about 200 mm and having upper and lower major surfaces and anapparent opening size in the range of about 0.5 mm to about 6 mm,wherein the geotextile has void spaces between geotextile fibers thatprovide sufficient porosity to receive a powdered or granular reactive;a powdered or granular reactive material disposed within void spaces ofthe geotextile mat and surrounding the geotextile fibers; aliquid-permeable cover sheet adhered to the reactive material-containinggeotextile mat to confine the reactive material within the geotextilearticle.
 2. The reactive geocomposite article of claim 1, wherein thepowdered or granular reactive material is selected from the groupconsisting of activated carbon, coke breeze, zero-valent iron, apatite,organophilic clay, zeolite, polymeric ion exchange resins, polymericadsorbing resins and mixtures thereof.
 3. The reactive geocompositearticle of claim 1, wherein the geotextile fibers are selected from thegroup consisting of polyolefin, polyester, polyamide, and copolymers ofany two or more of the foregoing.
 4. The reactive geocomposite articleof claim 2, wherein the reactive material is an adsorbent materialselected from the group consisting of activated carbon, coke breeze,organophilic clay, and any combination thereof.
 5. (canceled)
 6. Thereactive geocomposite article of claim 5, wherein the powdered orgranular reactive material has a particle size such that at least 90% ofthe particles have a size in the range of about 6 mesh to about 325mesh.
 7. The reactive geocomposite article of claim 5, wherein thepowdered or granular reactive material comprises about 50% to about99.9% by volume of the geotextile mat.
 8. The reactive geocompositearticle of claim 1, wherein the geocomposite article has 30 lb/ft³ to100 lb/ft³ of powdered or granular reactive material contained therein.9. The reactive geocomposite article of claim 3, wherein the geotextilefibers are selected from the group consisting of polyethylene fibers,polypropylene fibers, polyester fibers and polyamide fibers.
 10. Thereactive geocomposite article of claim 1, wherein the pre-formedgeotextile mat is non-woven.
 11. The reactive geocomposite article ofclaim 10, wherein the liquid-permeable cover sheets are non-woventextiles. 12.-19. (canceled)
 20. The method of claim 19, including thestep of covering all edge surfaces with excess cover material, andsecuring the excess cover material to the geocomposite article therebyreducing or eliminating escape of powdered or granular material throughall edge surfaces of the geotextile article.
 21. The method of claim 19,wherein the cover sheet is secured over the edge surface by an expedientselected from the group consisting of adhesively securing,needlepunching and ultrasonic welding.
 22. The method of claim 20,wherein at least one of the cover sheets is secured over all edgesurfaces by an expedient selected from the group consisting ofadhesively securing, needlepunching and ultrasonic welding.
 23. A methodof manufacturing a multi-layer geocomposite article having a geotextilelayer filled with a powdered or granular material adhered to an adjacentgeotextile mat containing no added powdered or granular materialcomprising: providing a pre-formed geotextile mat having an apparentopening size in the range of about 0.5 mm to about 6 mm and havingopposed major surfaces; contacting one of the major surfaces of thegeotextile mat with a powdered or granular material capable of sorbing,reacting with, or neutralizing a liquid-contained contaminant, andcausing the powdered or granular material to flow into the pre-formedgeotextile mat to fill at least a major portion of void spaces in thepre-formed geotextile mat; adhering liquid-permeable cover sheets to theopposed major surfaces of the pre-formed geotextile mat after the mathas received the powdered or granular material, to form an at leastpartially filled first geotextile layer; and.
 24. (canceled)
 25. Themethod of claim 24, wherein the second geotextile mat is unfilled. 26.(canceled)
 27. (canceled)
 28. (canceled)
 29. (canceled)
 30. A method oftreating contaminated water comprising submerging a water-permeablegeocomposite article in water to cover an underwater soil surface fortreating contaminants in said soil surface, said water-permeablegeocomposite article comprising a pre-formed geotextile mat formed fromwoven or non-woven fibers, and having an apparent opening size in therange of about 0.5 mm to about 6 mm containing an organophilic claywithin void spaces of the geotextile mat and surrounding the geotextilefibers; and a liquid permeable cover sheet adhered to the reactivematerial-containing geotextile mat to confine the organophilic claywithin the geotextile article.
 31. The method of claim 30, wherein thegeotextile fibers are selected from the group consisting of polyolefin,polyester, polyamide, and copolymers of any two or more of theforegoing.
 32. The method of claim 30, wherein the organophilic clay hasa particle size such that at least 90% of the particles have a size ofabout 6 mesh to about 325 mesh.
 33. The method of claim 30, wherein thegeocomposite article has 30 lb/ft³ to 100 lb/ft³ of organophilic claycontained therein.
 34. The method of claim 30, wherein the geotextilefibers are selected from the group consisting of polyethylene fibers,polypropylene fibers, polyester fibers and polyamide fibers.
 35. Themethod of claim 30, wherein the pre-formed geotextile mat is non-woven.36. The method of claim 30, wherein the liquid-permeable cover sheet isa non-woven textile.